Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: Two classics begin off-Broadway, Brian Stokes Mitchell is feted at lunch, Darko Tresnjak directs KISS ME, KATE, and JASPER IN DEADLAND comes to Seattle! (more...)

As of yesterday, May 12, REBECCA's publicist Marc Thibodeau has been found liable for sending emails that caused a potential investor to pull millions from the Broadway musical in its eleventh hour of need. Following this latest development, lawyer Ronald Russo, who represents REBECCA and its lead producer Ben Sprecher on all matters regarding Thibodeau, has issued a statement in response to the press agent's recent comments. (more...)

As reported last night, Broadway's ever-evolving REBECCA scandal continues, with press agent Marc Thibodeau having been found liable for sending emails that caused a potential investor to pull $2.25 million from the musical, a move that forced the project to a halt. (more...)

In the latest legal news from Broadway's ever-evolving REBECCA scandal, Deadline writes that press agent Marc Thibodeau has been found liable for sending emails that caused a potential investor to pull $2.25 million from the musical, a move that forced the project to a halt. (more...)

As 2014 comes to a close, it seems only fitting to look back on the craziest moments of this year- and there were many. From the cancellations of major productions to onstage flubs and unpredictable audience behavior, 2014 was nothing if not buzz-worthy.
Below, BroadwayWorld invites you to recall the most bizarre, ridiculous and peculiar things that happened on Broadway this year. (more...)

As BroadwayWorld last reported in October, Rebecca producer Ben Sprecher is still working to bring the much-delayed musical to Broadway in Fall 2015. Fans need wait no longer for a taste of what the show will sound like though! Audio selections of 'Last Night,' 'She's Invincible,' 'I'll Never Forget Her Smile,' 'Free Now,' and 'Rebecca' have just been posted on the show's official website. CLICK HERE to check out clips featuring Lisa O'Hare, Pia Douwes, Sierra Boggess and Julian Ovenden. (more...)

BroadwayWorld has just learned that a stage version of The Exorcist is currently in the works, and Tony nominee Sean Mathias is on board to direct the project. The play, adapted by John Pielmeier, enjoyed a run at Los Angeles' Geffen Playhouse in 2012, starring Richard Chamberlain and Brooke Shields. Production details have not yet been announced. (more...)

The New York Daily News reports that Mark Hotton, who in 2012 scammed the producers of REBECCA out of $65,000 and all-but extinguished the musical's plans for a Broadway run, was sentenced today, October 10, to almost three years (34 months) in federal prison. (more...)

Harlem's Mama Foundation for the Arts will celebrate its 15th Anniversary at its second annual Gala, which will take place at St. Martin's Cathedral (230 Lenox Avenue at 122nd Street) on Monday, June 16th from 6 - 9 PM. The special evening of food and entertainment -- which benefits Gospel for Teens, a program of the Mama Foundation for the Arts' School for Gospel, Jazz, and R&B Arts -- is graciously underwritten by Larry Scott and Lawrence Scott Events. Tickets for the Gala are $250.00 and $500 (VIP) and are now available by calling the Mama Foundation for the Arts at (212) 280-1045. (more...)

Lead producers Ben Sprecher and Louise Forlenza, announced today that REBECCA, the musical based on the classic novel by Daphne du Maurier, has officially extended its rights through December 31, 2014 and is eyeing a Winter 2014 start. They are now joined by Co Producers Steven Colson, Peter Bezemes and Barbara Sellinger, along with the previously announced co-producers, who all remained committed to the project. (more...)

According to the New York Times, the Securities and Exchange Commission will not take action against the producers of REBECCA. The new musical, which was originally scheduled to open on Broadway last fall, was cancelled after it was discovered that several of the show's investors never existed. A recent letter from the SEC to the producers' lawyers indicated that their 'investigation of the producing team was complete and no enforcement actions would be pursued.' (more...)

The New York Daily News reports that Mark C. Hotton admitted today, July 29, to conning funds from Broadway's REBECCA THE MUSCIAL by fictionalizing millionaire investors. Hotton said the scam was part of a plan to keep $65,000 in finder's fees. Hotton also plead guilty to a similar scheme with a Connecticut real estate firm, and will be tried tomorrow in Long Island in a money laundering conspiracy connected to Brooklyn's Maimonides Medical Center. (more...)

Back in April, BroadwayWorld reported that lead producer of REBECCA, Ben Sprecher, still intended to bring the new msuical to Broadway by the end of the year. After the Fall 2012 production was cancelled, Sprecher revealed to BroadwayWorld that another $7 million would be needed to reach the $15 million needed to bring the show to Broadway. For the show to open by the end of the year, the musical needed to raise an additional $7 million by the end of June. (more...)

As an online companion to Vanity Fair's feature article on Rebecca the Musical's scandalous Broadway collapse, David Kamp takes readers behind the scenes at Rebecca's first and only rehearsal. (more...)

Lead producer of Rebecca, the Broadway musical that was cancelled last Fall, is still intent on bringing the show to Broadway this year. Sprecher told BroadwayWorld that the producing team has brought in an additional $2 million for the production. Another $7 million will need to be raised to reach the $15 million needed to bring the show to Broadway. If the show is to open by the end of 2013, the fundraising goal must be reached by the end of June, and if things go as planned, Sprecher intends to begin rehearsals in October 2013. (more...)

The drama surrounding Rebecca, the Broadway musical that was cancelled last Fall, continues to grow, as Bloomberg reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is now investigating what happened bewteen lead producer Ben Sprecher and potential investors for the show. The SEC is reortedly specifically looking into 'whether Sprecher misled a prospective investor, Larry Runsdorf.' (more...)

2013's Broadway drama continues to unfold surrounding the musical REBECCA. According to The New York Times, the publicist who formerly represented REBECCA, Marc Thibodeau, has asked the State Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit put forth by the show's producers that accuses Thibodeau of 'defamation and breach of contract and fiduciary duty' for allegedly 'scaring off' a last-minute investor. Thibodeau is arguing that he only warned the potential investor that REBECCA's producers had been taken in by a fraud scheme. (more...)

Today, Michael Riedel reveals that potential investor, who has now been drawn into the controversy is Larry Runsdorf, who the drug manufacturing firm Breckenridge Inc. in 1983 and now lives in Boca Raton. Riedel writes: (more...)